Small‐angle scattering studies of the pore spaces of shaly rocks

Small-angle neutron and X ray scattering (SANS and SAXS) measurements have been performed on shaly rocks from a variety of oil field locations. Thin core sections cut parallel to their bedding planes give circularly symmetric scattering patterns. On the basis of the model of Debye et al., the data indicate characteristic pore dimensions of 9–15 nm. Sections cut normal to the bedding planes exhibit elliptically symmetric scattering indicative of pores flattened in the direction of sedimentary compaction. Fourier inversion of the symmetric SANS data in all cases yields a broad distribution of pore diameters having peaks typically in the range 4–6 nm. These distributions are in reasonable agreement with distributions derived from nitrogen adsorption isotherms, although often in disagreement with nitrogen desorption or mercury porosimetry data. At higher scattering vectors, in the Porod region, differences between the SAXS and SANS data are observed which are explained in terms of the rather different sensitivities of the two techniques to empty and filled pores. The data indicate that a significant component of the total porosity is due to pores of less than 2 nm in diameter, in which water is retained under ambient conditions. In several cases, pore dimensions measured by SANS increase after extraction of bitumens by methylene chloride solution, suggesting an intimate microscopic association of hydrocarbon and fine mineral grains.